Jennifer Hancock

The Humanist Approach to Grief and Grieving Jennifer Hancock

Publisher Marketing: How to grieve and maintain your sanity. A rational and compassionate approach to bereavement. Non-religious individuals who are experiencing grief need a resource that they can turn to as they process their grief. They need a resource that will help them cope, as Humanists, with the emotional trauma that is the grieving process. This is that book. While there has been a lot written about grief, not much has been written from an explicitly Humanist perspective. The needs of a Humanist, while grieving, are slightly different from others because Humanists, being rationalists, refuse to allow themselves to be comforted by the false hope of reunion that is a staple of religious belief. I decided to write this book to help people who are experiencing grief come to terms with it in a rational and compassionate way. After presiding over my first funeral as a Humanist officiant, I realized that a book on Humanist grief was needed. I felt the pain the bereaved were feeling and I longed to be able to provide them comfort. I know that Humanism provides an excellent framework for coping with grief, but it is impossible to share all that I know about how Humanists approach grief during a funeral. It also wouldn't do much good even if I could. The bereaved need ongoing support because grief is a process that takes time.